Car bombs kill 22 in northern Iraq

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Car bombs kill 22 in northern Iraq
Tue Oct 9, 2007 5:34am EDT

By Aseel Kami and David Clarke

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two suicide car bombs killed at
least 22 people in northern Iraq on Tuesday in attacks
targeting a police chief and a Sunni Arab tribal
leader, police said.

Al Qaeda in Iraq had vowed to ramp up attacks during
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, specifically to
target government officials and tribal leaders who
had joined with the U.S. military to combat the Sunni
Islamist group.

The two suicide car bombs hit the town of Baiji,
180 km (110 miles) north of the capital in Salahuddin
province. Baiji is a major oil refining centre fed with
crude oil and gas from the vast fields under the
nearby city of Kirkuk.

Police said a bomb in a pick-up truck was aimed at
Baiji's police chief, Colonel Saad Nifous, who was
wounded in the blast. The second targeted a tribal
chief. Police did not immediately have a breakdown
of the 22 dead from the two separate attacks.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0554268320071009

[maddezmom]

1. Bombings and shootings kill 33 in Iraq by Hassan al-Obeidi

Bombings and shootings kill 33 in Iraq by Hassan al-Obeidi
17 minutes ago



TIKRIT, Iraq (AFP) - Bombings and shootings in central Iraq and Baghdad, including twin suicide truck bomb attacks on leading figures in the fight against Al-Qaeda, killed at least 33 Iraqis on Tuesday, officials said.

At dawn two suicide bombers blew up fuel-laden trucks against the homes of an Iraqi police chief and a tribal leader in simultaneous bombings in Baiji city in central Salaheddin province, police said.

The attacks just minutes and about a kilometre (less than a mile) apart killed 19 people and wounded at least 50 people, police commander Ali al-Bijwari told AFP.

They were aimed at local police chief Colonel Saad al-Nifous and Thamer Ibrahim Atallah, a tribal leader at the forefront of the fight against Al-Qaeda. Both escaped unharmed though members of their families were killed.

The trucks were loaded with barrels of gasoline and caused massive fireballs when they exploded.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071009/ts_afp/iraqunrest_071009130852